Flash gun



Oct. 9, 1956 H. F." VON WIYMMERSPERG 2,766,371

FLASH GUN Filed Dec. 11, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. F. VON WIMMERSPERG 2,766,371

Oct. 9, 1956 FLASH GUN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 11, 1950 IINVENTOR. Heinnkb V077 Mmm (IS/ P7 m l lwk H. F. VON WIMMERSPERG 2,766,371

Oct 9, 1956 FLASH GUN Filed Dec. 11. 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 TINVEIVTOR. Helm/b9 rm lffmmenyry United States Patent r FLASH GUN Heinrich Ferdinand von Wimmersperg, Detroit, Mich. Application December 11, 1950, Serial No. 200,136 Claims. (Cl. 240-13) This invention relates to flash guns for photographic cameras.

The present flash gun consists mainly of a battery case containing one or more dry-cells, a socket for the flash bulb, a reflector to concentratethe light onto the object, a bracket to fasten the flash gun to the camera and the connection to the switch. This switch might be either a part of the flash gun itself or be incorporated into the shutter device of the camera, usually called synchronization. In both cases faulty operation may occur. If the switch is accidentally in its closed position and the photographer puts a fresh bulb into the socket, the bulb is fired and the fingers :of the photographer will be seriously burned.

The main object of the invention is to provide a flash gun which prevents accidental firing of the bulb by faulty synchronization or internal short circuits during insertion of the bulb.

Another object is to provide a for being carried in the pocket.

The third object is to provide a flash gun small enough for being carried in the pocket.

The third object is to provide a flash gun with a convenient release rof the bulb from the firing position;

The drawings show two embodiments of the invention, Figs. 1 to 5 a pocket size flash gun and Figs. 6 to 8 a bigger type. V

Fig. 1 shows a top view of the flash gun in isometric projection,

Fig. 2 a top view of the flash gun after removal of the reflector,

'Fig. 3 an isometric drawing of the safety slide or bulb carrier,

Fig. 4 a section IVIV of Fig. 2 with reflector, the bulb being in firing position,

Fig. 5 the same section 'as Fig. 4 with the safety slide in safety or loading position, the bulb being inserted.

Fig. 6 shows a cross-section of the second embodiment,

Fig. 7 shows a front view of the end plug of the body, and

Fig. 8 shows a front view of the safety lever.

The reflector of the first embodiment is fastened by the screw 21 to the body 22, which is molded of plastic material. The plug 23 connects the synchronizing mechanism of the shutter (not shown) with the cord 24. The end 25 of the one wire of the cord is connected with the bracket 26, which is fastened by the screw 27 to the body and holds the batteries 28 and 29 in place. The metal spring 30 connects the positive poles of the batteries 28, 29 to the negative poles of the batteries 31, 32 and presses the latter against the metal brtcket 33. The end 34 of the spring 35 rests on the end 36 of the bracket 37, which is fastened by the screw 38 to the body v22. The end 39 of the spring 35 rests against the safety slide 40 and one end of spring 35 protrudes through the hole 41 in slide 40. The slide 40 is guided by the ribs 42, 43 of the body 22 and by the reflector20, Ribs 42, 43 are flash gun small enough fixed on body 22 and preferably are rriolded integ ral- 2,766,371 Patented Oct. 9, 1956 therewith. The arm 44 of the slide protrudes through the slot 45 of the reflector and the socket 46, formed by the wings 47 and 48, protrudes through the slot 49 of the reflector 20. The bracket 50 for attaching the flash gun to the camera or a holder is fastened to the body 22 by the screw 21 When the flash gun is to be used, the plug 23 is connected to the synchronizing mechanism of the camera and the bracket 50 is attached to the camera. The re flector is preferably held upwardly and the end 51 of the safety slide is pressed inwardly into the safety or loading position shown in Fig. 5, and held in this position during insertion of the bulb. While the reflector is held upwardly, a bulb 52 is dropped into the socket. Then the fingers are removed from the bulb but end 51 of slide 40 is still held in inward or loading position. Fig. 5 shows the bulb falling into position and its central contact 53 cannot reach the contact 54 of the gun as long as the slide is in safety position because the glass part 55 of the bulb is held back by the wings 47 and 48 (which serve as a stop) of the socket 46; The upper ends of these wings are bent inwardly so that the bulb socket is held in position during firing and handling the loaded flash gun. On the other hand, this socket 46, 47, 48, as long as slide 40 is held in inward or loading position (Fig. 5), prevents the bulb from reaching a position during insertion where its central contact 53 can touch the contact 54 of the gun. The socket is formed in such a way that the bulb can pass freely by the hook 56 of the arm 44 during insertion.

After insertion the pressure on the end 51 of slide 40 is removed and the spring 35 now moves the slide 40 into the firing position shown in Fig. 4. The arm 44 of the slide 40 carries the bulb 52 along until the central contact 53 of the bulb rests on the contact 54 of the gun. Now the circuit through wire 25, bracket 26, batteries 28, 29, bracket 30, batteries 31, 32, contact 33 with its end 54, bulb contact 53, bulb ignition wire 60, cylindrical base 61 of bulb 52, slide 40, spring 35, bracket 37 and wire 57, is closed. If the synchronization switch (not shown) is closed too, the bulb is fired. However, the bulb cannot be fired by a faulty synchronization mechanism during insertion as long as the slide 40 is in its safety position (Fig. 5). For establishing a positive contact between the cylindrical base 61 of the bulb and the bracket 37 and independently of spring 35, the bracket 37 has a spring arm 58, which touches or contacts the metal cylindrical base 61 of the bulb in the firing position, Base 61 serves as a contact for bulb 52.

To eject the bulb, slide 40 is pressed into safety position (Fig. 5), the reflector is turned upside down, and the bulb falls downward. There is no need of touching the hot bulb. On the other hand, there is no possibility of burning the fingers during insertion by an accidental discharge of the bulb. The bulb is moved into firing position not by the fingers directly but by mechanical means; namely, through slide 40 and arm 44 which is mechanically moved into firing position preferably by spring 35. Thus, slide 40 and arm 44 serve as means for transporting the bulb from loading position into firing position and spring 35 is a mechanical means for shifting the stop 47, 48 to firing position. The use of spring 35 is optional because slide 40 and stops 47 48 can be manually shifted into loading and firing positions. For purposes of illustration and by way of preference, bulb transporting carrier 40, 44 and stops 47, 48 are shown as an integral unit whereas they can be made as separate elements independently operated. As one single part is used for insertion and ejection of the bulb, the flash gun is extremely simple and cheap to manufacture.

Figs. 6 to 8 show another embodiment of the invention.

- The body is welded to the sleeve 101 which is welded to the metallic reflector 102. The lower end of the body is closed by the end plug 103 molded from electrical insulating material. The end plug 103 is fastened to the body by the plug 104 of the cord 104 connecting the camera with the flash gun. The prong 105 of the plug 104 protrudes through a narrow slit of the body into the slot 106 of the plug 103. The prong 107 protrudes through the wide slot 108 of the body into the recess 109 of the plug 103. The slot 108 is so wide that the prong 107 does not touch the body 100. The central contact 110 of the battery 111 rests against the prong 107.

The bracket 112 is clamped by the screw 113 to the body 100.

The upper end of the battery 111 rests against the helical spring 114 which is held in place by the plug 115 molded from electrical insulating material and fastened to the body. The upper end of the spring 114 rests against the disc 116 riveted to the contact spring 117 in the recess 118 of the plug 115.

The safety lever 119 is free to oscillate on shaft 120, fastened to the extension 121 of sleeve 101. The lower part 122 of the safety lever 119 is cylindrically shaped with a groove 123 on each side for accommodation of the flash bulb socket with its pins (Fig. 8).

A lever, preferably in the form of a transparent shield 124 is hinged to the sleeve extension 121 by means of the hinge 125 and the pin 126 carried by extension 121. The spring 127, wound around pin 126, turns or continuously biases the shield in the direction of the arrow 128. The hinge 125 of the shield coacts with the upper arm 129 of the safety lever 119.

To insert a bulb, the shield 124 has to be lifted into the position shown in Fig. 6. The hinge 125 physically contacts and turns or cams the upper arm 129 of the safety lever counterclockwise. The lower end 122 of the safety lever protrudes through the hole 130 of the stationary reflector 102. The bulb is inserted into the socket .122. Then the shield is released and the spring 127 forces the shield against the bulb. Since the upper arm 129 of the safety lever is freed from the hinge arm 125, the bulb moves to the left until its central contact 131 rests on the contact spring 117. Now all contacts are established, and when the switch (not shown) of the synchronization device closes, the electrical current flows from the battery contact 110 to the prong 107, to the wires, to the synchronization device and back to prong 105, the body 100, body sleeve 101, shaft 120, safety lever 119, socket 122, central contact 131, spring 117, rivet 140, disc 116, spring 114 to battery 111 and the bulb is fired.

An accidental discharge of the bulb during insertion of the bulb into socket 122 of the safety lever is not possible because the shield 124 turns the safety lever so that its lower end is moved away from the contact spring 117 and the bulb is prevented from establishing a contact with the contact spring until the shield is lowered. The cylindrical part 122 of the safety lever, being much smaller in diameter than the diameter of the glass bulb acts as a stop and prevents the bulb from being pushed against the contact spring 117 while shield 124 is open. Cylindrical part 122 serves as a stop which is shiftable to loading position, full line showing Fig. 6, and to firing position, dotted line showing Fig. 6. Hinged shield 124 and lever 119 serve as means for shifting the stop 122 into firing and loading positions and spring 127 acts through shield 124 to move the flash bulb from loading into firing position, the bulb being transported from loading position into firing position upon socket 122 carried by lever 119.

The fingers of the photographer put the bulb only into a preparatory or loading position. Mechanical means forces the bulb from the loading position (full line showing Fig. 6) into the firing position, this mechanical means is here specifically exemplified by lever 124 which preferably serves also as a shield for protecting the photographic subject against accidentally exploding bulbs.

To eject the bulb the flash i gum is held with the concave side of the reflector facing downward and the shield is opened. The shield releases the bulb and the bulb is dropped. Thus the ejecting of the bulb is combined with the movement for inserting a new bulb, speeding up the operation.

By removing the wire plug 104 from the body 100, the plug 103 and the battery can be removed. The battery may consist of more than one cell.

I claim:

1. A flash gun adapted for firing a flash bulb comprising a support, two contacts on said support adapted to engage two contacts on a flash bulb when the bulb is in firing position, a slide member slidably mounted on said support for bodily movement toward and away from at least one of the contacts on said support, said slide having a stop thereon which, when the slide is moved away from said one contact into bulb loading position, loosely engages the bulb and bars contact between one of the bulb contacts and said one contact on the support, said slide also including a cradle for receiving and holding a bulb freely on said support whereby when the slide is moved toward the contact on said support the bulb is transported by said slide into firing position with the bulb contacts in contact with said contacts on the support, said cradle having a portion engageable with the bulb to lock the bulb on said support in response to movement of the slide to the bulb firing position and readily accessible handle means arranged on said support for manual actuation and operatively associated with said slide for bodily moving said slide on said support.

2. A flash gun adapted for firing a flash bulb comprising a support, two contacts on said support adapted to engage two contacts on a flash bulb when the bulb is in firing position, a slidable stop slidably mounted on said support and slidable relatively to said support into and out of bulb loading position, a guide on said support for guiding said stop along a rectilinear path, said stop in loading position freely engaging the bulb and barring contact between at least one of the contacts on said support and at least one of the bulb contacts, and slidable carrier means slidably mounted on the body and adapted to loosely position the bulb on said support, said carrier means operatable while said stop is out of loading position for transporting said bulb into firing position, said carrier means having a portion engageable with said bulb in response to movement of said carrier means to firing position to lock the bulb in firing position with the bulb contacts in contact with said contacts on the support, a guide on said support for guiding said carrier means back and forth along a rectilinear path and a readily accessible handle member on said support operatively associated with said stop and carrier means for producing said sliding movement thereof when said handle member is manually actuated.

3. The flash gun defined in claim 2 wherein said stop and carrier means are integrally joined together.

4. A'flash gun adapted for firing a flash bulb comprising a support, two contacts on said support adapted to engage two contacts on a flash bulb when the bulb is in firing position, a slide member slidably guided on said support toward and away from at least one of the contacts on said support, said slide having a stop thereon which, when the slide is moved away from said contact into bulb loading position, engages the bulb and bars contact be tween one of the bulb contacts and said contact on the support, said slide also including a cradle for holding a bulb freely on said support whereby when the slide is moved toward the contact on said support the bulb is transported into firing position with the bulb contacts in contact with said contacts on the support, said cradle having a portion engageable with the bulb to lock the bulb on said support when the slide is moved to the bulb firing position, and including a reflector mounted on said support and having a portion positioned over said slide and serving to retain said slide in sliding relation with its guide.

5. The flash gun claimed in claim 1 including resilient means biasing said handle means in a direction tending to shift said slide into bulb firing position.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,345,212 Monahan June 29, 1920 2,228,646 Summers I an. 14, 1941 2,312,614 Wheat Mar. 2, 1943 10 6 Nelms Mar. 9, 1943 Schwartz Nov. 13, 1945 Mallory Oct. 1, 1946 Noel Oct. 1, 1946 Bernstein Mar. 9, 1948 Goble Dec. 14, 1948 Pollock Aug. 2, 1949 Noel Oct. 18, 1949 Stamper Dec. 26, 1950 

